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[[letterhead]] William B. MacDonald, Jr., President Chris Dundee, Gen. Manager DUNDEE-MacDONALD ENTERPRISES, INC. PRESENTS World Heavyweight Championship [[headshot photo of Sonny Liston]] CHAMPION SONNY LISTON VS [[headshot photo of Cassius Clay]] No. 1 CONTENDER CASSIUS CLAY FEB. 25th MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION HALL [[double line across page]] [[left side of page]] Public Relations - Publicity VENN, COLE & ASSOC. Julian Cole, Director Alan Taylor, Asst. [[/left side of page]] [[center of page]] [[amblem]] Allied Resorts, Miami, Trade Council, Union Label 1[[/amblem]] [[/center of page]] [[right side of page]] PRESS HEADQUARTERS 1700 Washington Avenue Miami Beach, Fla. Phone 532-7351 [[/right side of page]] [[/letterhead]] [[centered]][[underlined]] BIOGRAPHY OF A CHALLENGER [[/underlined]][[/centered]] Cassius Marcellus Clay II, as the regal ring of his name suggests, did not come out of the canebrakes or the hills. He was a doted-on darling of parents in fairly good circumstances in Louisville, Kentucky, his birthplace. If he goes all the way to the top in his title fight with Sonny Liston, it could be honestly said he had a glory road from start to finish. The sweet smell of success had been in his nostrils from way back. His father, Cassius Marcellus Clay I, has said; "He came into this world with a good body and a big head." His mother, Odessa, says: "I remember when he was just a baby, people would say, 'my, oh my, he sure looks like he is going to be a boxer,' but I'd say, 'aw, go on, he's just a nice normal baby, he isn't going to make a living hurting anybody.'" But, in fate's own strange way, the li'l fella has grown into an aggressive youngster who could talk his way through Congress or fight his way through a gang of roughnecks. This bounce, this verve, has been a lifelong quality of Clay's. Even in babyhood, his parents insist, he knew the right thing to say. Dad recalled: "Often I distinctly heard him say 'G-G'. I didn't know what it meant at first, then I realized he was saying the abbreviation for Golden Gloves." The senior Clay affirms Cassius was also born to greatness by reason of his name. "This noble name has been in the family for generations, "he points out. "Our people were in the service of C. M. Clay, a relative of Henry Clay and a Kentucky patriot from before the Civil War." Complete normalcy, and unfettered happiness, highlighted the boyhood of Cassius. He had more than the usual quota of friends. "We used to have fights with the kids from the other streets, rock fights in the lots. I could throw a rock faster than anybody else. I could duck faster too." Then, in the public playground, he played all the games, soft ball, basketball, volly ball. At marbles, he was a whiz. He won the championship. "I had the surest knuckles in Louisville," he reports. If Odessa ever assigned him onerous duties around the home, he doesn't remember it. "You could say I spent my boyhood eating and sleeping - and going to school. And I was smart, smart